Global Oil companies Annouced Technology Challenges
The oil & gas industry technology facilitator ITF announced the technology challenges that its membership of global operator and service companies want to see tackled as a priority in 2011. The organisation tasked with driving new game changing technology solutions also revealed ambitious plans to increase its international reach by opening new bases in key regions including the US, Middle East and Asia Pacific.
At ITF’s annual technology conference in Aberdeen earlier this month, senior figures from international oil companies came together from Europe, the USA, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and debated sixty specific technology issues which today have been finalised to priority challenges such as oil recovery, drilling and deepwater technology. Neil Poxon, managing director of ITF said: “Our members seriously debated the big issues they are facing in safely extracting hydrocarbon reserves and it is clear there are some very pressing technology needs for 2011. We will be announcing some major opportunities for investment from our membership in new technologies that can get right to the heart of the challenges being experienced in the field.”
Next year ITF will open offices in the Middle East, Houston and the Asia Pacificare following in early 2012, initially employing four additional staff to service these key growth regions. Mr Poxon added: “North America is the world’s third largest oil and gas producer with Houston recognised as a centre for the industry and most of our members have operations there. The Gulf of Mexico and onshore provinces are technologically challenging with deep water, tight gas, heavy oil, arctic and unconventional resources and members see the ITF process as key to solving some of these issues.”
ITF also has ambitions for growth in other important oil regions. Mr Poxon explained: “We also intend to establish offices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Perth, Australia which will both be serviced with the appointment of key ITF personnel. There are a number of other important regions for the industry including China, South America and the former Soviet Union and we will continue to monitor these areas closely to enable market development at the right time. “It is an exciting time for ITF and the feedback that we had from our members gives us great confidence about their support for collaborating on new technology development and our plans for future growth”, according to Mr Poxon.